Understanding Knee Osteotomy Surgery

Knee Osteotomy Surgery is a procedure performed when a patient is suffering from early-stage osteoarthritis that affects one side of their knee joint. To treat this, an osteotomy will cut either the tibia (shinbone) or the femur (thighbone), re-aligning the knee joint to relieve pressure across the knee.

In this post, My Knee Doc will be looking at what a knee osteotomy is and how the procedure is performed. It’s essential to have a good understanding of any surgery before it occurs, especially when it comes to knee osteotomy surgery. Warrington Knee Surgeon – Mr. Gareth Stables explains more about the knee osteotomy procedure here.

Understanding Knee Osteotomy Surgery

Knee Osteotomy Surgery is a procedure performed when a patient is suffering from early-stage osteoarthritis that affects one side of their knee joint. To treat this, an osteotomy will cut either the tibia (shinbone) or the femur (thighbone), re-aligning the knee joint to relieve pressure across the knee.

In this post, My Knee Doc will be looking at what a knee osteotomy is and how the procedure is performed. It’s essential to have a good understanding of any surgery before it occurs, especially when it comes to knee osteotomy surgery. Warrington Knee Surgeon – Mr. Gareth Stables explains more about the knee osteotomy procedure here.

Why is Knee Osteotomy Surgery Performed

Knee osteotomy is usually performed to treat osteoarthritis, also known as “wear and tear” of the knee joint. This wearing down of your joint surface can lead to deformities in the joint and sometimes considerable pain when walking, standing or putting any weight on the knee joint.

Knee osteotomy surgery can also be performed to treat instability in your joint, in particular, if you have damaged the ligaments on the outside (posterolateral corner) of your knee.

Knee Osteotomy Surgery

While this blog post is about knee osteotomy surgery, it is important to consider other types of treatment used in the early stages of osteoarthritis to help teat your pain and discomfort. Typically painkillers and physical therapy are recommended, with injections, weight loss, and special knee braces called a medial off-loader brace, can also be recommended.

When the pain becomes difficult to manage, a knee osteotomy surgery may be an option worth considering. While surgery is an option, it’s important to speak with a specialist like My Knee Doc before deciding on any kind of procedure or treatment.

What Happens During the Surgery?

Typically, osteotomy surgery is performed either with a general anaesthetic or with a spinal anaesthetic to numb the legs specifically. Depending on the procedure either your thigh bone or shin bone are cut in a controlled process this allows your surgeon to slowly realign your knee joint to make sure your body weight is better distributed on to the “good” side of the knee.

In many cases, a plate with screws is fixed around one side of the bone to act as a stabiliser as your bone heals.

Is Knee Osteotomy Surgery an option for everyone?

There are some particular cases in which a knee osteotomy surgery isn’t recommended. If there are signs of arthritis (wear and tear) on both sides of the joint or if you suffer from rheumatoid arthritis anywhere, it’s often better to avoid this procedure.

Smokers should also stay away from the procedure as smoking can stop the bone healing and possibly result in complications.

Call My Knee Doc for Knee Osteotomy Surgery Warrington Today

After your knee osteotomy surgery, you’ll likely need to use crutches for a few weeks to allow you to recover and build up your knee’s strength and your walking confidence. Full movement is encouraged as soon as possible.

If you want to know more about the knee osteotomy procedure or anything else related to knee injuries, knee surgery and rehabilitation, be sure to call us on 0161 464 6399